Infosys [Get Quote] BPO, which started knowledge process outsourcing services as a part of its BPO offerings four years ago, is aiming to make Gurgaon the hub for its KPO business.

The company is setting up a large centre for 'knowledge services', capable of accommodating 800-1,000 people. It will be operational by the end of the current financial year. Currently, Infosys has a team of about 200 people in Gurgaon.

To step up business, Infosys BPO also aims to build new practices within knowledge services and establish near-shore presence. Knowledge services, at present, contribute about 8-10 per cent of Infosys BPO's annual revenue of around Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion). Infosys offers KPO services from three centres: Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon.

After launching legal services six months ago, Infosys BPO has recently announced learning services as a part of the KPO practice.

The practice will focus on knowledge management by creating a knowledge architecture. It will also involve designing, programming and deployment of courses after analysing requirements of employees at different levels in large enterprises.

"Before we had a structured learning services, we had created pseudo-universities for some customers. These involved deploying e-learning solutions. Learning services require effective governing of knowledge resources, and it is a complex issue for most large organisations.

We have already started recruiting people, including academicians, educators and researchers. We are also talking to probable customers," Joydeep Mukherjee, VP & head, knowledge services, Infosys BPO, said.

Mukherjee, who was earlier with Infosys Technologies, aims to bring in rigorous processes and a strong technology platform. He had taken over as the head of the KPO practice after Ramit Sethi quit the company to head the KPO business in Wipro [Get Quote] BPO.

Mukherjee said that the company is expecting exponential growth in the legal services business.

"Even though we have launched legal services, we have the best names as our customers. We expect the business to grow at a rapid pace since cost pressure is quite high."

A team of about 100 people works as a part of the legal services practice, which also includes 25 attorneys.

The company is also planning a foray into legal content publishing in the near future. Infosys BPO is also going to establish near-shore consulting capabilities in UK and US.

Gearing up

The company is setting up a large centre for 'knowledge services', capable of accommodating 800-1,000 people

The practice will focus on knowledge management by creating a knowledge architecture